Chapter 1079: The Truth of the Misunderstanding
Chapter 1079: The Truth of the Misunderstanding
"Is this how the Imperial Beast Sect treats its guests?" Mr. Bai's pleasant voice resounded between heaven and earth.
There was not a trace of anger in his tone, yet the sect's guardian, the Azure Dragon, sensed an immense threat and glared at him with fury.
Driven by its defensive instincts, the dragon was on the verge of striking. In that hair's breadth of a moment, a figure suddenly shot up from the ground.
"Aaaahhhhh!"
With a miserable cry, he flew straight toward Mr. Bai.
The tense, heavy atmosphere was shattered in an instant.
Countless gazes from all around immediately focused on the small figure.
"Ah, it's Xu Ke," Mr. Bai mused with a smile.
Still, he followed Li Fan's instructions and asked timidly, "Mr. Bai, what are you doing here? Did you come to see me?"
Before Mr. Bai could answer, a streak of blue light flashed from the horizon, materializing in an instant to block the space between him and Xu Ke.
"Big Brother Lu Ya!" Xu Ke was thrilled to see another familiar face.
Mr. Bai, however, looked at Lu Ya's wary expression and a flicker of resignation crossed his eyes. "Lu Ya, it's been a long time."
"What is your business here?" Lu Ya asked.
His tone was icy, brimming with vigilance.
Mr. Bai seemed unbothered, replying calmly, "I come with no ill intent. I am simply looking for the Imperial Beast Sect. There is a matter in which I require their assistance."
Hearing this, Lu Ya hesitated, uncertain.
Just then, an aged voice spoke up. "A guest from afar is always welcome. It is our Imperial Beast Sect that has been discourteous."
An old man with white hair and white eyebrows appeared in a flash.
"Great Elder?" Lu Ya exclaimed in surprise.
Emperor Sanmo nodded in acknowledgment before turning to Mr. Bai. "Honored guest, please follow me. If there is anything the Imperial Beast Sect can do to help, we will certainly cooperate."
This exceedingly polite attitude left Lu Ya both confused and unwilling to accept it.
However, he still respected his elders and the sect's ways, so he did not object openly.
"Then I thank you in advance." As the saying goes, you don't strike a smiling face. Mr. Bai retracted his imposing aura.
He followed Emperor Sanmo and vanished from sight.
"Huh? Why'd they leave?" Xu Ke, who had expected Mr. Bai to take him along, was momentarily frustrated.
"I told you not to get too close to Mr. Bai! And you still foolishly rushed up to him the moment you saw him!" Lu Ya gently tapped Xu Ke on the head, admonishing him.
"He is not at all the person he pretends to be in front of us." Lu Ya gazed into the distance of the Imperial Beast Sect's domain, his expression dark.
"Big Brother Lu Ya, why do you keep saying that? Mr. Bai is a really good person!" Xu Ke said, confused but earnest.
"You... Ugh..." Lu Ya heaved a long sigh. "Fine. At this point, I won't hide it from you any longer."
"After Ningyuan City was razed to the ground, we were with Mr. Ba—"
"Under his direction, we rallied the people to save themselves and helped move all the wounded to the small, ruined temple."
"But, on that day..."
Lu Ya trailed off, lost in memory, his expression growing distant.
"One of the wounded suddenly took a turn for the worse, and it was clear he wasn't going to make it. Mr. Bai happened to be away, and with our skills, we couldn't possibly save him..."
"So we had no choice but to split up and search the city for Mr. Bai."
At this, Xu Ke suddenly interjected, "Right, I remember now! That did happen. It wasn't long after that your attitude toward Mr. Bai completely changed, Big Brother Lu Ya. Why?"
Lu Ya took a deep breath. "Back then, I searched everywhere for Mr. Bai but couldn't find him. Then I suddenly remembered that when I was gravely ill, he had taken me to his home to treat me. I vaguely recalled that he seemed to have a basement."
"I thought maybe he was in the basement. After some effort, I finally found the entrance near his house. I was about to call out to him when I caught the faint scent of blood drifting out from within. I thought Mr. Bai might be hurt, so I didn't think twice and rushed inside. But what I saw..."
"What did you see?" Xu Ke was completely captivated by Lu Ya's story.
"Bodies. A basement full of them, all dismembered. And there he was, holding a sharp knife, carving up the corpses, performing some kind of evil ritual. Do you remember how Gouzi used to have a few brothers? Their bodies had been forcefully stitched onto dogs," Lu Ya asked.
Xu Ke nodded.
"They had all disappeared mysteriously around that time. I asked Mr. Bai about them, and he said he hadn't seen any sign of them either. But..."
Lu Ya seethed, "I clearly saw their bodies among the corpses in that basement!"
"That..." Xu Ke's eyes widened in disbelief. He couldn't believe what he was hearing.
Lu Ya continued, "The scene in that basement was like something out of hell. Even now, the memory makes my blood run cold. The stench of blood was so thick it was horrifying, and the floor was stained a dark crimson. In the deepest part of the basement stood an utterly bizarre, faceless statue!"
"I only saw it for a moment, but it has haunted my nightmares ever since. If you hadn't seen it with your own eyes, you could never imagine such pure evil!"
"He seemed shocked by my sudden intrusion. I, however, reacted instantly, terrified he would kill me to silence me. Without a second thought, I scrambled out of that secret room. I fled back to the temple like a madman, wanting to expose Mr. Bai's true face. But he had always been too good at faking it! No one believed me!"
Lu Ya sighed heavily.
"If we stayed by his side, we would surely be in danger. We had to escape! But no matter what I said, you were the only one willing to flee with me."
"Thankfully, we met our master on the road, and we finally found a home here at the Imperial Beast Sect. But I never imagined he would follow us here, like a lingering ghost."
Seeing Lu Ya's deeply furrowed brow, Xu Ke felt incredibly conflicted.
"Maybe... maybe there's some kind of misunderstanding?" Xu Ke tried to persuade him.
"A misunderstanding? What kind of misunderstanding could there be?" Lu Ya scoffed.
"You've seen him for yourself now. He faced a Dao Integration guardian dragon without even flinching. Imagine how terrifying his power must be! To reach such a level in such a short time... besides trading for it with the power of those evil sacrifices, I can't think of any other way it's possible!"
"Besides..."
Lu Ya paused for a moment. "That bizarre, faceless statue... I've investigated it."
"It's the evil god worshipped by the ancient Xuantian Sect! The remnants of the Xuantian Sect are a scourge that every cultivator is sworn to destroy!"
Xu Ke had no idea what the Xuantian Sect was.
But he did know the reason Mr. Bai had been cultivating so quickly.
However, just as the words were about to leave his lips, he suddenly remembered Li Fan's warning: "The secrets of heaven must never be revealed." He had no choice but to swallow them back down.
(End of Chapter)
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